The website for Aircell, called GoGoInFlight.com, just launched. It expects to supply WiFi to American Airlines and US Airways in the first half of this year using terrestrial cell antennas (that point up).

According to Om Malik, the initial phase, 15 of American Airlines’ 767s will be broadband-enabled; it plans to eventually take that number to 500. Aircell wireless service is expected to cost $12.95 for cross-country flights and $9.95 for flights of three hours or less. Virgin, by comparison, wants to provide broadband access to every seat via its back-seat system, also using Aircell.

Aircell expects to deploy about 500 antennas, enough to cover the entire country and support as many as 250,000 broadband users.

“This gets into a ticklish area,” says Vint Cerf, one of the Internet’s chief creators and generally a critic of network restrictions. “Airlines have to be sensitive to the fact that customers are seated close together and may be able to see each other’s PC screens. More to the point, young people are often aboard the plane.”

Panasonic Avionics is testing airborne services on Australia’s Qantas Airways, designed to block sites on “an objectionable list,” including porn and violence, says David Bruner, executive director for corporate sales and marketing. Panasonic says that the launch customer for its Ku-band satellite service, to be launched this year, is a US carrier.